13 Things You Didn't Know About Peeps

Most people may not think of marshmallows as an Easter basket must-have—until they're shaped in the form of a bunny or chick and dusted with sugar. At that point, they're not marshmallows anymore; they're Peeps, the quintessential Easter Sunday treat, as classic as serving turkey at Thanksgiving or overloading on sugar at Halloween.

And yet, as normal as they are, there's so much about the brand that you don't know.

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1. Peeps Makes 5.5 Million Treats in the Time it Originally Took to Make One.

Talk about efficiency! Back in 1953, it took 27 hours to make a single Peeps chick. Now, the company churns out one every six minutes—and produces them at such a large scale that it can turn out 5.5 million Peeps per day, Today reports.

8. Peeps Has Jumped on the Fro-Yo Trend.

Menchie's recently started selling Peeps-flavored frozen yogurt. The marshmallow-y treat is available through March 31, and can be topped with—you guessed it—a Peep. Or 12.

PEEPS / PR newswire

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9. They're Also Giving Nesquik A Run for Its Money.

Watch the throne, Nesquik bunny—those Peeps chicks are coming for you. The brand partnered with Prairie Farms to release marshmallow-flavored milk, chocolate-marshmallow milk and an Easter Egg Nog last year, and this year, they're expanding their offerings, selling Strawberry Creme- and Orange Creme-flavored milks at Walmart.

PEEPS / Prairie Farms

10. The Brand Keeps Innovating on the Flavor Front, Too.

You've seen Peeps in every color of the rainbow, and they're available in just about every flavor, too. This year, find Lime Delight—a lime flavored marshmallow dipped in lime fudge, so it basically tastes like Key Lime Pie—in stores nationwide. At Kroger stores, you'll find Fruit Punch Peeps, and at Walgreens, Cotton Candy ones.

As if that weren't enough, the brand is bringing back Sour Watermelon, Blue Raspberry and Party Cake Peeps in stores across the country.

Flickr/Mike Mozart

11. They Really Want to Keep You Guessing.

Last year, Peeps introduced mystery flavored marshmallow chicks at Walmart, and this year, they're doing it again—only with three separate unknown flavors. The brand encourages people to tweet their guesses using #mysterypeeps, and so far, the world seems pretty stumped.

The most common answer for Flavor No. 2 seems to be popcorn, and people seem to agree that Flavor No. 3 is a bit sour ... but that's about it.

12. They're the Fourth Most-Popular Easter Candy.

It isn't Easter without a chocolate bunny—at least according to RetailMeNot's recent study. It found that 76 percent of people plan on buying one this year, followed by jelly beans, then Cadbury Creme Eggs. About 45 percent of people plan on adding Peeps to their grocery cart.

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13. You Can Tour the Peeps Factory Right Now.

I don't care if you're reading this at 2 a.m., a thousand miles from the company's Bethlehem, PA, factory, while sitting on the toilet. You can still tour the factory right now. Via virtual tour, that is.